The company is also looking at scaling up its petrochemical production capacity to clock larger margins, MRPL managing director H Kumar told PTI.

“We have asked Engineers India Ltd (EIL) to do a feasibility study for expansion of our refining capacity from the present 15 million tonnes (mt). Previously, we were targeting 21 mt, but now, we are exploring if 25 mt can be done," he was quoted as saying.

MRPL is a subsidiary of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). It is ready to produce Euro-VI fuel and the planned expansion is part of its Vision 2022 with a target of Rs 5,000 crore net profit.

The expansion is seen as a major margin driver, potentially doubling the company's profit per barrel. It is expected to help the company process cheaper, heavier crudes into high-value products like diesel, liquefied petroleum gas and propylene.